Saturday, 23 August 2014

This is one of my favourite children's movies so I thought it was about time I read the book. The first half of the book is a lot like the movie. I was impressed. Many of the movies I have watched have not been as closely related to the book as this one. The only problem was the movie stops about half way through the book. This threw me a little, as after this I had to read a story which I expected finished. It was well worth continuing the read.

The first half of the book Bastian takes a book and hides in the school attic to read it. He reads of Fantastica and the adventures of Atreyu, as he tries to find the one boy who can save Fantastica. As Basitian reads, he is drawn into the story and discovers he is in fact the boy. He has to name the childlike empress but has no idea how. He gives her a new name and is transported into Fantasica. By this time Fantastica is all gone but one grain. As Bastian makes wishes Fantastica is reborn. Time brings the discovery that his wishes makes him lose his memory of his life before Fantastica. He must find a way back to his world before his wishes are all used and he has no memory of the life he wants to return to. He must find what is important to him and what he really wishes for.

For anyone who has enjoyed this movie, maybe its worth you reading the book too. It is a story for all ages to enjoy and remember.

Friday, 22 August 2014

I can not over state how happy I am to have this book. If you are teaching adolescents writing, then I highly recommend you go online to Book Depository or Fishpond and get yourself a copy.

Kelly Gallagher has built this book around six "Pillars of Writing Success":

Students need a lot more writing practice.

Students need teachers who model good writing.

Students need the opportunity to read and study other writers.

Students need choice when it comes to writing topics.

Students need to write for authentic purposes and for authentic audiences.

Students need meaningful feedback from both the teacher and their peers.

He offers a number of classroom-tested strategies that enable teachers to:

Understand the importance of teaching writing

Motivate young writers

Model effective writing using both the teacher's own compositions and real-world text

Provide clear choice within a rigorous curriculum

Help students recognise the importance of purpose and audience

assess essay;s in ways that drive better writing performance

This book is brilliant. It has master sheets in the appendix, along with lists that I will surly find very useful. I have put into action a number of things already and it works. It is difficult to take a student from primary writing and transition them into adult writers. Teaching Adolescent writers has made this transition easier to comprehend. It has given me tools and advice to teach a young adult rather than treat them like they are still a child writer.

Wednesday, 13 August 2014

The complete chronicles of Narnia, all in one book. We absolutely loved every story. There is nothing lacking in the writing of this book - at all. Each scene popped off the pages into our imaginations. I had children that moaned every time I put the book down. Reading this was the time of the day that they hung off my every word.

Take a journey to Narnia with Polly and Diggory as they experience the beginning of Narnia. Then go back with Lucy, Peter, Susan and Edmond when they enter the wardrobe and discover the world within. Travel the sea with Price Caspian where Reepicheep (a Mouse) will battle with your imagination. Jill and Eustace will take to a city under Narnia and then to the end of Narnia and beyond. Its a complete journey from beginning to end. We came together and loved every character and adventure.

This is a book that will come off my bookcase and be read to the next generation also.

Narnia is probably my favourite book. The best story book out of the stories , for me, is probably - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This book is an action packed adventure story! My favourite character is reepicheep (he's funny). I was disappointed when Aslan told Lucy and Edmond they wouldn't return to Narnia. But it was awesome, in the last battle, when they return to stay. - Nathan

Narnia was one of the best books I have ever read! It had heaps of description and so many cool characters. My favourite book was, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. My favourite two characters were Aslan and reepicheep. Reepicheep was so cute and fluffy. He was a mouse that was little and brave. I guess his most threatening sentence was, I am going to stab you... in the foot." He was one of the most remembered characters in the story. Every book was amazing! Around every corner something else was hiding.

Tuesday, 5 August 2014

I had mixed thoughts about this book, from a mothers point of view. But as a reader I become so enticed that I couldn't put it down. The characters go through so many emotions and trials that you just have to keep reading. The twists are great. The plot is different. The very reasons I kept reading.

The city is made up of factions. Each person must conform to the statue of their faction. Tris, the main character doesn't belong to any in one faction, she is divergent. If she lets anyone know then she will become factionless. Because of this she struggles to fit in into the most dangerous faction and finds it hard being divergent. But who can she trust.

Friday, 1 August 2014

Battle Bunny

Author: Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett

Illustrator: Mathew Myers

ISBN: 978-4424-4673-1

I have been editing with the children, really encouraging them to take extreme measures to change develop their writing. This isn't easy. Who likes to look for things to do better when you think you have done the best you could at the start. Writing isn't like that. You get a great piece of work out of revision.

This book is fantastic, as the bunny changes his birthday story into a battle story. Fantastic for both boys and girls. The bunny has written all over the pages and included pictures to emphasis the thought. The story changes to an amazing little piece of action. I was smiling the whole way through. Most of all I was impressed by the concept of changing the story and the way the illustrations made it a work of art.

I had to get this book to show the kids a great piece of editing along with a great picture book.

Private Tutoring:

About Me

This started as a university project and has since evolved. It has become a family favourite as my children wait to read my next post. They continually seek out new titles for me review and its been a great encouragement to their reading. I have conversed with many new authors and have found reading their books extremely inspiring. It is these great authors and my children, that keep me reading and reviewing the awesome aray of books and suggestions I receive.
As I take my joy of reading to the world, I hope that one day it will be my students books that I will be reviewing.